Saturday, August 25, 2012

YOGADOWNLOAD: Prenatal Yoga #1

This is a gentle workout that is ideal for prenatal health. The video is a series of images and verbal instructions with some music. If you are familiar with yoga poses you may feel more comfortable with this format. If you are not familiar with yoga you may have a slightly less graceful transition between poses, but I don't know that growing a baby can ever make things graceful.

Below is my dear pregnant sister's thoughts on the sequence:

"The yoga sequence starts
out with meditation and deep breathing. Then a seated side bend to each
side followed by a gentle twist, also while seated. From there you move
to all fours for pelvic rocking - a variation on cat/cow that focuses
on your lower back and pelvic area instead of engaging your entire back.
This is followed by downward facing dog, then mountain pose into
awkward chair pose to strengthen the legs. Following awkward chair, you
return to standing in mountain pose, then step back for warrior 2 on
each side. After returning to standing, you lower into a basic squat
with your hands in prayer. Following the squat you move into one-legged
pigeon pose on each side, separated by downward facing dog in between.
The final few minutes are spent relaxing in corpse pose if you are less
than 20 weeks, or in a supported front-side sleep pose if you are in the
last half of pregnancy.

"The instructor has a very soothing voice and goes at a nice easy
pace. The exercises are all beginner-level but in the case of awkward
chair and warrior, held for just long enough that you can get a little
bit of a burn in your legs and arms. Each slide will show modifications
for comfort if applicable. A lot of prenatal yoga videos can have a
"new-age" preachy feel to them that is off-putting for some people, but
this routine is pretty mild as far as that goes and offers a few
interesting notes on how each exercise is physically beneficial. My
favorites are the pelvic rocking since it takes the weight of the baby
off of your back, and one-legged pigeon pose because it is such a
fantastic stretch. I have only used pillows for one-legged pigeon pose
and to assist in the squat occasionally. I will often choose to sit in
lotus pose at the end instead of trying to find a comfortable lying down
position - which is difficult when you get big toward the end. Overall
this is a great sequence for those looking to lightly warm their muscles
and focus on relaxation and stretching. It is not so much of a
"workout" if that is what you are after. While it is definitely geared
toward pregnancy, all of the exercises are great for anyone in need of a
low-impact, gentle routine."

Check out the link below for other prenatal workouts from some awesome yoga instructors (note that there are some free downloads in there):